Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase day-to-day but DJ Reader out for season - ESPN

CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is officially «day-to-day» with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder, coach Zac Taylor said Sunday.

Chase suffered the injury in the team's 27-24 overtime win against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. Taylor said that the prognosis that Chase will be evaluated on a short-term basis is in line with what was initially expected.

The coach also added that it's too early to evaluate Chase's practice availability throughout the week ahead of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 23.

The Bengals received bad news about two players, including one of their best defenders. Defensive tackle DJ Reader is out for the season with a set of torn quadriceps in his right leg, Taylor confirmed Sunday. He tore his left quadriceps in 2020, his first season with the Bengals. Reader, who is in his final year under contract with the club, was among the first players Cincinnati signed in free agency to revamp a franchise that finished with the league's worst record in 2019.

Cincinnati rookie cornerback DJ Ivey also suffered a season-ending knee injury. He tore the ACL in his left knee, Taylor said Sunday. Ivey, who played some defensive snaps but was mostly used on special teams, suffered the injury while trying to make the tackle on a punt return.

Chase favored his right shoulder after he made a 24-yard catch on third-and-21 to extend a Cincinnati drive during the Bengals' comeback. He came in for two more snaps but was unable to finish the game.

«It was tough,» Taylor said. «There was not much he could do. And you could tell him coming off the field after one of Tee [Higgins'] touchdowns, there was no way he was going to be able to play with that for the rest of the day.»

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